Kendall Schmidt
Kendall Francis Schmidt (born November 2nd, 1990) is an American actor and singer best known for his role as Kendall Knight on the Nickelodeon show, Big Time Rush, as well as a member of the boy band of the same name. In Big Time Rush, Kendall is "the leader of the band." Before Nickelodeon, he had a guest appearence on Frasier. In 2009, he signed a record deal with the Columbia Records with his group Big Time Rush, along with James Maslow, Carlos Pena Jr., and Logan Henderson. Early Life Kendall Schmidt was born November 2nd, 1990 in Andover, Kansas to Kent and Kathy Schmidt. Schmidt is one out of three boys, with older brothers Kenneth at 26 and Kevin Schmidt at 24 also an actor for Unnatural History. It's funny because Kansas, Kent, Kathy, Kendall, Kenneth, and Kevin all start with a K, and he revealed he shares the same middle name with his grandmother. He also has four tattoos, two on his back, on his left arm, and the other on his right arm. Career He is the star of Nickelodeon's hit live-action show, Big Time Rush, as Kendall Knight, a 17 year old hockey player from Minnesota. He has played small roles on different TV shows such as ER, Without a Trace, and Fraiser. Acting Schmidt began his acting career at age six, appearing in a Chex television commercial. When he was 10 years old, he was one of three young actors who was hired to be Haley Joel Osment's stand-in and body double (they shared the same agent) in the Steven Spielberg film, A.I. Artificial Intelligence. He celebrated his birthday on the set, and Spielberg and the cast surprised him with a birthday cake decorated with Star Wars figures. In mid 2009 Schmidt was cast in the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush as one of the four main characters, Kendall Knight. The show premiered to a record breaking 6.8 million viewers, making it the highest rated premiere for a live action series in Nickelodeon history. In the 2000s, his first speaking role was playing a young Frasier Crane on an episode of Frasier, ''but he has also had guest-starring roles on ''Gilmore Girls, ER, Ghost Whisperer, and CSI: Miami, Without a Trace. Music Personal Music Schmidt sang the theme song, "All That Really Matters", for web show Poor Paul starring his brother, Kevin Schmidt. Several other songs by Schmidt are featured in the series but were never recorded such as Memories and Melodies, Say What You May, and Techno. Schmidt and his best friend, Dustin Belt, have a band they call "Heffron Drive". The name Heffron Drive came because they both met on a street called Heffron Drive in a neighborhood. Heffron Drive is a Alternative/Pop/techno genre band. They have many songs featured on Myspace, at Myspace.com/HeffronDrive and on PureVolume.com/HeffronDrive. Some of the top rated songs are "Quiet Please" and "Love Letter". Schmidt also has a series of covers on Youtube under the username "K3ndallSchmidt" including a cover of John Mayer's Edge of Desire with cast mate Logan Henderson. Big Time Rush For main article, see Big Time Rush. Big Time Rush is an American pop boy band that formed in 2009. The band consists of Schmidt, James Maslow, Carlos Pena Jr., and Logan Henderson, all on vocals. In 2007, Nickelodeon was casting and looking for people to be in a new band to be in a new sitcom called Big Time Rush. Schmidt won the role of Kendall Knight over many other people because of the difficult decision of casting him over others. James Maslow sent in his audition tape when his desire was in singing and acting. He got the role 2 years later. Carlos Pena, Jr. and Logan Henderson sent in their audition tapes and were accepted over thousands of other boys. The boys have recorded many songs including the theme song of the same title as the show, "Any Kind Of Guy", "City Is Ours", "Halfway There", "Famous", "Shot in the Dark", and "Stuck". Additional songs will be released throughout the show's first season. They and Nickelodeon are planning on releasing a compilation album of all the songs that are in the first season of the show. The soundtrack was released October 2010. Personal Life When Schmidt was younger, he and his mother spent about six months out of every year in California. Schmidt is represented by AKA Talent and Protege Entertainment. Kendall is the youngest member in Big Time Rush Schmidt is one out of two members of Big Time Rush that has tattoos. He has 4 tattoos, one is in the middle of his back, just below his neck, the other one is on his back, on his left shoulder, the third one is a heart on his left arm and the fourth one is a sugar skull on his right arm. Biography Kendall Schmidt stars in the new Nickelodeon live-action comedy series Big Time Rush as Kendall, the lead singer of the new “princes of pop” music group. Born in Wichita, Kansas, Schmidt was raised in nearby Andover and grew up the youngest of three brothers who all caught the acting bug. After watching his two brothers, Kenneth and Kevin, travel back and forth to Los Angeles, Schmidt decided he also wanted to be an actor. While it began as “something fun to do,” Schmidt quickly became passionate about pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. “My first acting memory is starring in a Chex cereal commercial with my brothers. Even though we went to the audition separately, we were cast to play brothers,” he recalls. When he was 10 years-old, his family finally made the move from Kansas to California. Schmidt soon landed recurring roles on General Hospital, Titus, Raising Dad, Gilmore Girls and CSI: Miami. He also guest starred on series including ER, Mad TV, Frasier and Phil of the Future and most recently, Without a Trace and Ghost Whisperer. On the big screen, he appeared in Minority Report, AI and Lions Gate’s According to Spencer. In addition to acting, Schmidt’s other love is making music. Within the last three years, he has learned to play guitar and has honed his vocal skills from singing in the car with his mom to recording in the studio. Inspired by “Incubus,” his all-time favorite band, and “Taking Back Sunday,” Schmidt also writes his own music. Another source of inspiration is his family. “My whole family has given me the drive to succeed,” he said. “My brothers mean the world to me. They keep me grounded and offer a different perspective when I need advice.” Schmidt was drawn to his role in Big Time Rush by the music. “Acting comes naturally to me but I think I am best at music,” said Schmidt. “If I could combine both loves, then I am successful.” Schmidt identifies with his character, who suddenly finds himself thrust into the limelight, trying to get a handle on being a part of a music group. His character Kendall’s attitude is to enjoy the ride –and Schmidt plans on following the same advice. When he is not focusing on his music and acting, Schmidt likes hanging out with his friends or being outdoors, whether it’s to rock climb, surf or skateboard. Schmidt lives in Los Angeles with his two dogs, cat, bird, tortoise and python. Kendall purchased a house in Sin City, Las Vegas after several members of Kendall’s team became concerned after some overzealous fans began camping outside of the 22-year-old’s L.A. pad and they urged him to get another place where he could hide out. Kendall still owns his place in L.A. — and will use the home when he comes to town — but the Vegas pad will be his primary residence. Trivia *Kendall Schmidt's Twitter: @HeffronDrive *Kendall has an instagram just like Carlos Pena Jr. *Kendall Schmidt's Store: kendallschmidt.spreadshirt.com *He loves animals Kendall's update *Kendall was chosen to appear in Big Time Rush two weeks before Big Time Audition was suppose to aired. *Kendall replaced Curt as the main character. Carlos said that with Curt they didn't have the same chemistry (friendship) they feel with Kendall. They also said that the songs sound better with Kendall. *Logan then told the producer to audition Kendall one more time. After he auditioned for a second time, the producer asked Carlos, James and Logan to choose between Curt or Kendall. All three chose Kendall. *Middle name: Francis *Date of Birth: November 2, 1990 *Place of Birth: Wichita, Kansas *Height: 5’11" *Weight: 170 lb *Favorite Colors: Green and Silver *Favorite TV show: Family Guy *Favorite Food: Cobb salad and pizza *Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Chocolate chip cookie dough *Favorite Flower: Sunflower *Favorite Book: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury *In school: Was a procrastinator *Favorite Animal: Python or Boa Constrictor *Favorite Band: Incubus & Taking Back Sunday *Favorite Sports: Football, Swimming, Soccer *Favorite Football Team: Kansas City Chiefs *Favorite Cereal: Lucky Charms *Favorite Superhero: Spider Man *Nicknames: Bigman, Kendizzle, Kendahlia, K-Dog *Favorite Number: 111 *Favorite Food: Pizza *Favorite Penguin in Penguins of Madagascar: Rico *Kendall has 2 older brothers, Kenneth and Kevin *Kendall has a band with his friend, Dustin Belt (Current Guitarist for BTR) called Heffron Drive *Kendall has guest starred and produced songs for the web series, "Poor Paul" *Kendall has new pet pig named Yuma Pic of Yuma *Kendall's First Date was when he was 13 years old and it was with Lucy Hale Popstar *Kendall is the first BTR member to have tattoos. He has 8. Kendall said all his tattoo means that his a nice guy. **'Scorpion' - He got it when he was 19 and it means his Zodiac Sign. It's located on his left shoulder. **'Peace sign' - It's Kendall's first tattoo and he got it when he was 18. It is in the middle of his back. **'Heart' - Is Kendall's third tattoo and is located on his left upper arm. **'Sugar skull' - It represents Mexico’s annual All Soul’s Day, which falls on November 2. Coincidentally, that also happens to be his birthday. Also includes wheat and sunflowers to represent his Kansas upbringing. Additionally, the tattoo has the number 111 inscribed in it which is his Lucky number. The tattoo also includes a guitar and guitar pick as an homage to his love for music. The rose represents Kendall's grandmother, Grandma Rose. The tattoo artist was Chris Garcia from Las Vega, Nevada. **'Grandma Boots & Grandpa's Belt' - are a pair of tattoos located on Kendall's left upper hand right above his heart tattoo. It represents his grandparents. **'Sissy' - This tattoo represents Kendall's dog, Sissy. The tattoo is located under the Scorpio tattoo. **'Hand Band' - This tattoo represents the Rushers and the amount of hand bands Kendall has received through the years. Kendall got the tattoo the same day Big Time Dreams aired. *In an interview with Total Girl Philippines, James Maslow said that Kendall is a shopaholic. *He has a crush on Angelina Jolie. *His worst habit is biting his nails. *Before he got the part as Kendall on BTR, his character was named "Donavan".http://www.missoandfriends.com/interviews/big-time-rush-page-2-interview.php *He started acting when he was 6 years old. *He enjoys songwriting, skateboarding and surfing. *He has two dogs, one cat, a bird, a turtle and a python. *His Favorite BTR character is James Diamond. *His Celebrity Crush is Zooey Deschanel. *Kenneth Schmidt: Kendall is a very caring person. When he was younger, he worked at a pet shop and took care of animals after school. He is also very fun to hang out with and extremely funny. He will also be the first to tell you that he is a “pretty laid back dude”. In other words, he likes to relax and just “go with the flow.” Twitter feed References Gallery Category:Band Members Category:Real-Life Articles Category:Males Category:1990 births Category:Actors Category:Cast Category:Singers Category:Twitter Feeds